1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amino composition containing a certain amino compound as a main component, a process for producing the same and the use thereof. The amino composition, when it is used as a curing agent for epoxy resin, provides a long pot life and an excellent appearance of a coating film to an epoxy resin composition without deteriorating its reactivity. Therefore, this amino composition is applicable to a curing agent for epoxy resin and a raw material thereof to be utilized in the field using epoxy resin including use as a coating material, use as a material for civil engineering and construction, use as an adhesive, use as a material for electricity and electronics, and use as a composite material. Further, this amino composition is applicable to a chain extender for polyurethane resin and a raw material thereof to be utilized in a field using polyurethane resin including use as foam, elastomer, coating adhesive, fiber, heather and water proof material.
2) Related Art
It has widely known that various polyamino compounds are used as a curing agent for epoxy resin and a raw material for curing agent thereof or a chain extender for polyurethane resin and a raw material for chain extender thereof.
Room temperature curing epoxy resin composition using these curing agent for epoxy resin are particularly utilized widely in a field of coating material such as a corrosion-resistant paint for ship, bridge and land and marine iron structure, and a field of civil engineering and construction such as lining, reinforcement and repair of concrete structure, a flooring material of building, lining of water supplying facility and sewerage, pavior, and adhesive material.
Representative examples of the amino compounds are as follows: aliphatic polyamino compound such as ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, pentaethylenehexamine, hexamethylenediamine; aliphatic polyamino compound having aromatic ring such as xylylenediamine; alicyclic polyamino compound such as menthenediamine, isophoronediamine, bis(aminomethyl)cyclohexane, N-aminomethylpiperazine; aromatic polyamino compound such as phenylenediamine, diaminodiphenylmethane, diaminodiphenylsulfone; other polyamino compounds such as polyamino compound having polyether framework, polyamino compound having norbornane framework. These polyamino compounds have their own characteristic features respectively caused by the reactivity of their amino groups, namely their active hydrogen. Therefore, these polyamino compounds are used as a curing agent for epoxy resin directly or with suitable modification for each compound.
Particularly, a diamine represented by the formula (1) or a curing agent for epoxy resin using the diamine as a raw material have a feature that they are suitable for curing at relatively low temperature, since their reactivity with an epoxy resin is higher and the curing speed of an epoxy resin composition is faster than other polyamino compounds or a curing agent for epoxy resin using the same as a raw material. Further, they have features to provide an excellent curing property of an epoxy resin composition, an excellent performance of cured coating film of epoxy resin, an excellent physical property of an epoxy resin cured product and an excellent adhesion property of an epoxy resin cured product and the like. Especially, when used as a coating material, they have features to provide a coating film excellent in both gloss and leveling and a cured product excellent in both water resistance and chemical resistance.
However, on the other hand, an epoxy resin composition using a diamine represented by the formula (1) or a curing agent for epoxy resin using the diamine as a raw material has defects that it exhibits a short pot life and its workability is inferior when it is cured at room temperature. Further, it has defect that a performance of cured coating film of epoxy resin or a physical property and an adhesion property of an epoxy resin cured product occasionally deteriorates because such epoxy resin composition easily produces carbamate or carbonate by absorbing carbon dioxide or water vapor in the atmosphere. Particularly, it has defects that the appearance of a coating film tends to be inferior by the phenomena of whitening or stickiness.